In defense of Ted McGinley...

I feel compelled to defend the man I've had a crush on ever since "Revenge of the Nerds" by giving a big, fat "Jeers" to whoever wrote the "Cheers & Jeers" column in the new issue of TV Guide. They give a "Jeers" to the FOX sitcom "Til Death" for "tempting fate" by casting Ted McGinley as Brad Garrett's swinging single pal on the show.
The item goes on to state: "Just when it was starting to show life in the ratings...FOX's freshman series brought in McGinley, the "notorious kiss of death" who hastened the demise of "Happy Days," "The Love Boat" and "Dynasty." Seriously, do "Til Death's" producers want to kill their own show?"
Seriously, do you have a research department? I'm calling TV Guide out because the item conveniently forgets to mention the six seasons McGinley spent as Jefferson D'Arcy on Fox's "Married With Children." In all the 144 episodes he appeared in on that show, he managed not to kill it. Then there was three seasons as one of the principal leads on the ABC comedy "Hope & Faith" where he shared such a sweet chemistry with Faith Ford on a show that had a death sentence Friday night time slot.
Of the three series TV Guide does mention: "Happy Days" no longer had RON HOWARD..."The Love Boat" had already sailed way too many voyages; and McGinley was on "Dynasty" for just one season. I think he had much less to do with that show's demise than the lookalike Krystal storyline or the new Fallon, the new Steven, the new Amanda, or the Moldavia massacre.
I'm surprise TV Guide didn't blame McGinley for the cancellation of ABC's "Sports Night" on which he also appeared. Maybe they'll blame that one on Felicity Huffman in a future "Cheers & Jeers" column.